Editing Wedding Videos
Unless you absolutely have no way to do it, wedding videos should be edited in post-production rather than in-camera. Editing as you shoot is simply too difficult for this type of work, and there's no chance of having a nicely-flowing video without extraneous footage.
Before you begin the edit, it's a very good idea to plan for more than one version. For example, you could have a 10-minute highlights package and a 2-hour full-length version. You will then have a short version to show friends and visitors without boring them to tears, and have a complete version for yourselves and those friends who don't mind watching a feature-length movie of the wedding. Of course you can also edit a 30-minute version as a compromise, a 2-minute version to go on your personal website, or any other version which takes your fancy.
Titles and Graphics
It's a nice touch to add titles, such as a name key for people speaking at the reception, titles to announce things like cutting the cake, etc. See Wedding Video Titles for more info.
Special Effects
Wedding videos can work very well with special effects in the right places. As always, don't overdo it and never use an effect just because you can — only use effects where they genuinely add to the video.
Examples can include:
- Slow-motion shots with soft music.
- Soft filters, subtle glowing edges, etc.
- Sepia tones and other colour effects, especially for photo shoots.
- Photo montages with transitions.
The key with wedding effects is to get the mood right. You will probably use a lot of gentle, slower effects rather than hard and fast.
Speeches
The wedding speeches are a special case and can be difficult. What do you do with Uncle Bob's 90-minute speech during which most of the audience fell asleep and snored? Do you include the whole thing so as not to hurt his feelings, do you chop it down to five minutes (which can be a time-consuming job), or do you leave it out? The best plan is to ask the bride and groom or person paying for the video.
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